Automatic reel



F. M. LITTELL AUTOMATIC REEL Filed March 12, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 N MNocnzo, 1936.

AUTOMATIC REEL Filed March 12, 1934- 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 F. M. LITTELL2,058,329 I Patented Oct. 20, 1936 UNITED STATES 2,058,329 AUTOMATICREEL Frederick M. Littell, Chicago, Ill., assignor to F. J. LittellMachine Company, Chicago, 111., a

corporation of Illinois Application March 12,

10 Claims.

The invention relates to reels forsupporting coil stock and hasreference more particularly to mechanism for driving said reels forfeeding stock material to metal working machines such as punch pressesand the like.

The several operative units which go to make up the feeding mechanism ofsaid machines are usually mounted in longitudinal alignment upon anelongated press bed and actuated intermittently from the plunger ordrive shaft of the machine which they serve. As shown in Patent No.1,885,612 granted to Frederick J. Littell' November l, 1932, the drivefor the stock supporting reels has incorporated some form of overrunningclutch in order to allow the coil to continue its rotation after thedriving element has ceased operation. Especially is this necessary whenthe stock supporting reel is driven from the feeding mechanism of themetal working machine 29 since the weight of the coil must be isolatedfrom the driving element or otherwise there would be a variable momentumdepending upon the weight of the coil to be stopped by the same whichwould seriously afiect the accuracy of the feed to the machine. v

Power driven reels constructed as above have not been entirelysatisfactory since the feed to the machine is generally intermittent andif the reel is driven continuously an excess of stock results, formingloose outer loops in the coil. These outer loops of excess stock alsoform when the drive to the reel is intermittent since the drive in thiscase must incorporate an overrunning clutch which allows the reel torotate after the drive ceases, thus adding to the excess stock at eachstopping of the drive.

The present invention has for its object to provide novel drivemechanism for rotating'stock supporting reels which will maintain theoutside loop free of the coil and of the proper size to insure accurateand eflicient operation of the feeding mechanism to which the stockmaterial is presented.

Another object of the invention is to provide supporting means for coilstock with a power drive which will operate to apply the power to theperiphery of the coil and which will incorporate an overrunning clutchand novel auto- 1934, Serial No. 715,098

controlling comparatively large driving forces through the clutch andwhich will allow continued rotation of the coil after the application ofpower thereto.

With these and other objects in view, the invention may consist ofcertain novel features of construction and operation, as will be morefully described and particularly pointed out in the specification,drawings and claims appended hereto.

In the drawingswhich illustrate an embodiment of the device and whereinlike reference characters are used to designate like parts- Figure 1 isa side elevational view of a peripheral type of reel embodying theimprovements of the invention;

Figure v2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Figure 3;

Figure 3 is a detail elevational view of the control arm showing itsvarious positions for connecting and disconnecting the drive to thereel;

Figure 41s an enlarged fragmentary plan view. parts being shown insection, of the clutches for driving the reel forwardly and rearwardlyincluding the associated parts for actuating the clutches respectively;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the mounting for theoperating lever of the forward clutch;

Figure 6 is a front elevational view of the clutch control collar. 7 I

Figure '7 is a side elevational viewshowing a modification ofthe-invention for use when the coil stock is placed on the reel inreversed position; and

Figure 8 'is afragmentary top plan view showing. details of a reversingdrive for the supporting rolls.

Figures 1 to 8 inclusive show the invention applied to a reel of theperipheral type comprising 0 a supporting base 60 of substantiallyrectangular shape having secured to one end thereofuprights 6| joinedat'their top by an idler roller 62 which supports the stock materialbeing unwound from the coil 63. The coil is supported for rotation onbase 60 and driven by power means which will now be described.

As the stock material is supported for feeding to a metal workingmachine the drawings show for purposes of illustration a set of feedrolls for a punch press consisting of the rolls 64 suitably journalledin bearings ti mounted upon a press bed 66. Theshaft 61 carrying thelower feed roll is provided at its outer end with a sprocket wheel. 68meshing with the endless chain 69 which con- 5 example, areintermittently driven, which means that the coil of stock is likewiseintermittently driven and therefore the drive must include anoverrunning clutch in order that the momentum of the rotating coil willnot affect the feeding of the stock by the feed rolls.

The sprocket wheel I8 is mounted on shaft 1| to provide a frictionclutch, being held in driving relation to the shaft by the heavy coilspring 13 confined between the friction disc engaging the sprocket wheeland the lock nut I4 which is threaded to the end of the shaft. The otherend of the driving shaft is provided with a jaw clutch consisting of aclutch member 15, Figure 4, suitably keyed to driving shaft II and heldto the shaft by the locking nut 16 and a companion clutch member in theform of a collar H, the member and collar having opposed clutch surfacesin the form of teeth 18. The clutch collar has an integral flange 88provided with a face 8I concentric with the collar and which isinterrupted at diametrically opposite points forming the openings 82,Figure 6, the openings and face 8I being connected by the slopingsurfaces 83. Extending diagonally from face 8| and joining with theclutch collar 11 is'a bevelled face 84 which is concentric with thecollar and uninterrupted throughout its extent.

The clutch collar 11 and gear 85 are suitably keyed to rotate with asleeve 86 which is mounted on driving shaft "II for rotationindependently thereof and provided at one end with a clutch face 81forming one member of a reversing clutch to be presently described. Theend of the drive shaft II is reduced in diameter to receive the sleeve86 forming a shoulder 88, preventing axial movement of the sleeve towardthe left, Figure 4, the other end of the sleeve fitting within recess 89formed in clutch member 15 and being held against movement toward theright. The gear 85v is fixedly keyed to the sleeve 86 while the clutchcollar 'II rotates with the sleeve but has movement axially thereof,being resiliently urged in a direction toward clutch member I by thecoil springs 98 housed within openings 9I formed in the gear andengaging with flange 88 of the clutch collar. With the clutch collarfree to move axially of the sleeve in a direction toward the right,Figure 4, it will be understood that the clutch teeth 18 of the membersengage and the drive from shaft II takes place through member 15, collar11 and gear 85 to pinion 92, suitably keyed to shaft 93 journalled inbearings 94 and meshing with said gear. Shaft 93 mounts one of thedriving rolls 95 supporting the coil of stock, the other roll beingmounted by shaft 96 also suitably journailed in bearings on base 68 inspaced relation with shaft 93. Shafts 93 and 96 are operativelyconnected by an endless chain 91. and therefore rotate in unison torotate the coil 63.

With respect to the above form of drive the invention proposes toprovide clutching and declutching mechanism having automatic operationin accordance with the size of the outermost loops of the coilrepresenting the accumulation of excess stock. The clutch collar 'I'Iis-cammed into and out of clutching engagement by a cam roller 98carried by a lever I88 pivotally supported for substantiallyfrictionless movement by bracket I8I. Pivotal movement of the lever I88and therefore movement of the cam roller 98 with respect to faces 8] and84, respectively, is efl'ected through means of the rod I82 pivotallyconnecting at one end with the lever, as at I83, and at its other end tothe member I84. Bracket I85 journals the member, which carries an armI86 adjustable with respect to the member by means of the arcuate slotI8! formed therein. To the upper end of arm I86 is pivotally secured arod I88 carrying on its outer end the roller I88 adapted to contact theoutermost loop of the coil. The pivotal mounting of rod I 88 on itssupporting arm allows the operator to throw the roller out of engagementwith the coil of stock when it is necessary to remove the coil for anyreason or in the event a new coil is to be placed on the supportingstructure. Pivotally secured to bracket I85 is a rod II8 which hasoperative engagement with arm I-II forming part of member I 84. The coilspring II2 confined betweem the end of rod H8 and the connection of armIII therewith yieldably urges the member I84 in a counter-clockwisedirection, thereby maintaining roller I89 in contact with the outsideloop of the coil of stock. As shown in Figure 3 arm I 86 has two extremepositions, the one shown in full line representing the clutchingposition and thus the transmission of power to the coil of stock, whilethe location of the lever in dotted lines is an extreme position wherethe clutch is disconnected. Between these two positions and morespecifically within several degrees of the vertical position of the arma variation in the movement of the arm to one side or the other willcause actuation of the clutch. However, movement of roller I89 from theextreme of one position to that of the other causes a very slightmovement of the pivoted lever I88 and thus camming roller 98. Thisresults from the following structure. The depending end of member I84 isoperatively associated with shaft I82 and is held in operative relationtherewith by the locking nuts I I4 threaded to the end of the shaft. Anymovement of roller I89 in a counterclockwise direction therefore causesengagement of the depending end of member I84 with the locking nuts I I4and movement of the shaft to the right. However, oscillation of the armI86 by movement of roller I89 in a clockwise direction will causemovement of the shaft due to compression of the coil spring II5 confinedbetween the stock H6 and the connection of the arm with said shaft.

With the arm I86 in the full line position of Figure 5 where the same islocated to the left of .a--vertical plane passing through the pivot ofsaid arm, it will be observed that shaft I82 has been shifted toward theright to rock lever I 88 and withdraw camming roller 98. This locatesthe roller in engagement with face 8| which face has interruptions inthe form of openings 82 receiving the camming roller, permitting axialmovement of the clutch collar 11 into clutching engagement with theclutch member I5, the collar being resiliently urged in this directionby coil springs 98. The driving shaft II is therefore connected to therollers 95 through the clutch and connecting gears to cause rotation ofthe coil. The parts will remain in this position until an excess ofstock accumulates, whichresults in an increase in the size of theoutermost loop of the coil 63, forcing roller I89 outwardly, oscillatingarm I86 to shift the shaft I82 toward the left. This results in pivotalmovement of lever I88 and location of camming roller 88 in engagementwith the bevel face 84, withdrawing clutch collar 'I'I from itsclutching position. This actuation of the clutch disconnects the drivebetween driving shaft II and the supporting rollers and therefore therotation of the coil ceases. As operation of the feeding mechanismcontinues, however, the excess stock is gradually used up, resulting ina decrease in the size of the outer most loop and in oscillation of armI06 until the same is again positioned to cause engagement of the clutchelements and establishing the drive to the rollers.

It will be recalled that the endless chain 69 drives shaft II throughthe sprocket I constructed to provide a friction clutch. This isnecessary to relieve the feed rolls of the impact and strain which wouldotherwise be placed thereon by engagement of the clutch elements I andH. The coil of stock'is relatively heavy and as a result "it is noteasily caused to rotate from a position of rest nor can the heavy coilbe immediately stopped after rotation has begun. The friction clutchtherefore absorbs impact due to the engagement of the clutch elementsand also allows .intermittent operation of the feed rolls. It will alsobe observed that the members I5 and I1 transmit rotation in onedirection only and form a type of clutch known as a jaw clutch which hasbeen selected for illustration for several reasons although other formsof clutches come within the scope of the invention. This clutch has theadvantage of permitting the coil to overrun, that is, to continuerotation after the drive to the same has ceased and further incorporatesa sensitive clutching and declutching arrangement, which however, ispositive in operation. It is possible with this form of clutch totransmit comparatively large driving forces although for actuation ofthe clutch very little force is required, it being appreciated that theoutside loop of the coilis comparatively weak and the amount of pressureavailable to actuate the clutch small.

It is sometimes necessary to reverse the feeding mechanism which ofcourse requires transmission of. the reverse drive to the coil in orderthat the same will rewind the stock supplied by the feeding means. Theinvention provides a rewinding clutch comprising clutch members I0 and01, the former member being integral with sleeve II6 keyed to thedriving shaft II and journalled for rotation in bearing 12, while member01 is integral with sleeve 86 previously described.. A

rod III extends above but substantially parallel with drive shaft IIhaving one end mounted for axial movement within bearing 12 as shown inFigure 4 and carrying a yoke I I0 engaging within the notch I20 providedin sleeve H6. The other end of the rod H1 is suitably connected withrewind lever I2I adapted for actuationby th operator to locate rod IIIin neutral position as shown in Figure 4 where the same is held by thespring pressed ball detent I22 or into operative position to effectmovement of the sleeve II6 to the right, Figure 4, causing engagement ofthe clutch members 19 and 81. The drive to the coil supporting rollers95 now takes place through the clutch members I9 and 61, gear 65 andpinion 92.

Figure 2 shows the base 60 providedwith spaced thrust-plates I26 forcentering the coil on the rollers 95 and also shows a brake I25 appliedto the shaft 96 journalling one of the rollers for braking the rotationof the heavy coil of stock. By proper adjustment of the brake themomentum of the rotating coil can be checked to a considerable extentwhile the resistance to initial rotation will not be so great as tomaterially interfere with the emciency of the driving mechanism.

In Figure '7 the coil of stock is shown in reversed position on theperipheral type of reel'in order that the reverse side of the stock maybe upwards when presented to the feeding rolls. Feeding of the stock tothe feeding rolls with either surface thereof upward is'necessary as thestock has a finished surface and an unfinished surface, and certainblanking Operations require that the finished surface'be up" while forother erably located between the gear 85 and pinion 92.

For accommodating the intermediate gear mechanism the gear on the driveshaft I05 and the pinion I92 on the shaft 93 have a pitch diameter suchthat the gear and pinion fail to mesh with each other. To operativelyconnect the gear and pinion, however, so that'the latter rotates in areverse direction from that of the gear, a plurality of idler pinionsI93 are provided,'journalled for rotation on shafts supported by thebracket I94, Figure 8, and having meshing engagement with each other.For operatively connecting the gear and pinion so that the latter hasthe same direction of rotation a single idler pinion I95 is provided thesame being journalled in bracket I94 and positioned to mesh with saidgear and pinion when located in the same vertical plane. The bracket isadjustable by reason of the elongated slots I96 and accordingly theidler pinions I93 or the pinion I95 may be positioned in the verticalplane of pinion .I92 and gear I95 to secure the desired direction ofrotation of the supporting rolls 95.

With the coil of stock supported on the reel as shown in Figure 9 thesingle pinion is adjusted for operation to drive the supporting rolls sothat the stock is taken from the left hand side of the coil and theexcess stock is represented by the surplus material existing between thecoil and the feeding rolls. Automatic rotation of the roll in accordancewith the quantity of excess stock unwound from the reel is securedthrough the provision of a second stock engaging arm 206 suitablypivoted at 201 andconnecting with arm I06 by means of the rod 200 sothat outward movement of arm 206 will result in outward movement of themain arm I06. Actuation of the clutch mechanism through the resilientconnections associated with the control-arm I06 takes place as thesecond arm 206 has movement in accordance with the quantity of excessstock. Irrespective of the direction the stock is taken from the coilthe same is driven through clutch mechanism incorporating theoverrunning feature and through the friction drive from the feedingmech- The structure of the invention is therefore adaptable to blankingoperations of all kinds and delivery of the stock material to thefeeding mechanism is in response to the quantity of excess stock unwoundfrom the reel, the coil also being automatically freed from the drive toper- I mit overrun of the same,

limited by the exact embodiment of the device shown, which is merely byway of illustration and not limitation, as various and other forms ofthe device will of course be apparent to those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of theclaims.

I claim:

1. The combination with feeding mechanism of a metal working machineoperating on stock material, of a reel for supporting a coil of saidstock material, power means operatively connecting with the reel forrotating the same to unwind stock from the reel for presentation to thesaid feeding mechanism, the said connections between the power means andreel including a clutch for interrupting the drive to the reel, a memberassociated therewith for actuating the clutch, and an oscillating armcontact.- ing the outermost loop of said coil of stock and connectingwith said member, wherebya variation in the size of said outermost loopwill oscillate the arm to actuate the member and thus the clutch.

2. The combination with feeding mechanism, of a metal working machineoperating on stock material, of a reel for supporting a coil of saidstock material, power means operatively'connecting with the reel forrotating the same to unwind stock therefrom for presentation to saidfeeding mechanism, the said connections between the power means and reelincluding a clutch for interrupting the drive to the reel, a cammingroller for actuating said clutch, connections between said cammingrollerand an oscillating arm positioned for contact with the outermostloop of said coil of stock, whereby variation in the size of said loopactuates the camming roller to connect and disconnect the clutch, andresilient means biasing said arm into engagement with the outermost loopof the coil.

3. The combination with feeding mechanism, of a metal working machineoperating on stock material, of a reel for supporting a coil of saidstock material, power means operatively connecting with the reel forrotating the same to unwind stock therefrom for presentation to saidfeeding mechanism, said connections between the power means and reelincluding a clutch for interrupting the drive to the reel, a cammingroller for actuating theclutch, a pivoted member supporting the rollerfor movement, an oscillating arm yieldingly held in contact with theoutermost loop with the coil of stock, and connections between the armand the pivoted member, whereby variations in the size of said outermostloop oscillates the arm to cause actuation of the clutch.

4. The combination with feeding mechanism,-

of a metal working machine operating on stock material, of a reel forsupporting a coil of said stock material, power means operativelyconnecting with the reel for rotating the same to unwind stock therefromfor presentation to said feeding mechanism, the said connections betweenthe power means and reel including a clutch for interrupting the driveto the reel, an oscillating arm connecting with the clutch for actuatingthe same, and resilient means biasing said arm into engagement with theoutermost loop of the coil and causing actuation of the clutch to drivethe reel when the outermost loop diminishes to a predetermined size.

' 5. The combination with feeding mechanism, of a metal working machineoperating onstock quantity of excess stock unwound fromsaid reel,

said connections between the arm and the member including resilientmeans whereby movement of the arm in one direction is transmitted to thmember through said resilient means.

6. A reel including, in combination, a plurality of spaced rollersmounted for rotation and adapted to support a coil of stock, a driveshaft mounted for rotation and operatively connecting with power means,a gear mounted on said drive shaft and having rotation independentlythereof, said gear operatively connecting with one of said rollers, andconnections between said gear and the drive shaft, said connectionsincluding a clutch comprising a pair of members having clutch engagingsurfaces, and resilient means carried by said gear and forcing one ofsaid members into clutching engagement with the other member.

7. A'reel including, in combination, a plurality of spaced rollersmounted for rotation and adapted to support a .coil of stock, a driveshaft mounted for rotation and operatively connecting with power means,a gear mounted on said drive shaft and having rotation independentlythereof, said gear operatively connecting with one of said rollers, andconnections between said gear and the drive shaft, said connectionsincluding a clutch comprising a pair of members having clutch engagingsurfaces, one of said members being fixedly secured to the drive shaftand said other member forming a collar and having movement axially ofthe shaft, said clutch collar being connected to rotate with thegear'and being confined between the gear and said first mentioned clutchmember, and resilient means carried by the gear and forcing the clutchcollar into engagement with said first mentioned clutch member.

8. A reel including in combination a plurality of spaced rollers mountedfor rotation and adapted to support a coil of stock, a drive shaftmounted for rotation and operatively connected with power means, andmeans operatively connecting said drive shaft with one of said spacedrollers including mechanism operative to cause the spaced roller torotate in the same direction as that of the drive shaft.

9. A reel including in combination a plurality of spaced rollers mountedfor rotation and adapted to support a coil of stock, a drive shaftmounted for rotation and operatively connecting with power means, a gearmounted on said drive shaft and having rotation independently thereof,connections between said gear and the drive shaft including a clutch,and means operatively connecting said gear with one of said spacedrollers, said connections being operative to drive said spaced rollersin the same direction as the gear or in a reverse direction with respectthereto.

10. A reel including, in combination, a plurality of spaced rollersmounted for rotation and adapted to support a coil of stock, a driveeffective to transmit rotary movement of thedrive shaft in one directiononly, and other manually actuated means for connecting said gear anddrive shaft and operable to transmit rotary. movement of said shaft inan opposite direction. 7

' FREDERICK M. LI'I'I'EIL.

